Technology and ESG compliance are among the most important areas for firms’ investment over the next 12 months
Alongside looking after their external investments, the world’s asset managers are considering what investments they need to make in their own businesses.
With the shockwaves from the pandemic, climate change, geopolitics, and technology all providing disruption for the industry, positioning for growth is vital.
Investing in their technology and data infrastructure is paramount, according to a global survey of asset management executives by financial services software firm Temenos.
But ensuring that their products and services are ESG compliant is another major concern for wealth professionals, with 47% saying that this will be a key focus for them over the next 12 months.
The technology in focus for firms includes moving to cloud-based solutions (62% of respondents said these play a key role in their IT systems) but they also see AI and machine learning as playing a key role in providing insights and analytics across the investment cycle.
Most respondents expect to augment the capabilities of artificial intelligence with human expertise.
The top applications for AI are portfolio analytics and performance measurement (60%), data sourcing, cleansing and enrichment (57%), and improving the operational efficiency of middle- and back-office processes (56%).
Maxime Dumas, Principal Researcher at Croesus, told WP this week that AI has played a major role in digital and self-service capabilities for Canadian financial institutions during the pandemic.
Collaboration
To help accelerate the digital transformation of the asset management industry, collaborations are common.
Among the survey respondents, 83% of asset managers say they will extend their strategic alliances with asset servicing and tech partners.
